Environment and Sustainability Committee and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee  

These committees have worked jointly to provide a Checklist combining environmental, sustainability and EDI actions to enable publishers or journals to assess their current position as a baseline, identify further steps they can take, and track their progress. EASE

The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) SDGs and Publishing SIG brings together members who want to contribute to the SDGs. Members share experiences, challenges and strategies for engaging stakeholders and aligning publishing activities with the SDGs. The SIG have produced a list of SDG initiatives and resources and ran a session on ‘Taking Action on Sustainability’ at the 2024 ALPSP Conference.

In support of the UN’s SDG Publishers Compact, this multi-stakeholder group collaborates on strategies for integrating SDGs into research and scholarly communication. They offer Top Action Tips, reports and tools for publishers and wider scholarly communication stakeholders to align with the SDGs, gain insights on best practice and take action on sustainability. They also offer support to publishers working towards signing the Compact. 

Any member of the PA can join this taskforce to discuss sustainability initiatives, share industry updates and hear from guest speakers. This group launched Publishing Declares, a declaration on behalf of the UK book and journal publishing industry to take urgent action on climate change and released the Carbon Calculator and Materials Matrix to enable members in the UK book and journal publishing industry to monitor their carbon outputs. 

This alliance between the Book Industry Study Group (BISG), Book Industry Communication (BIC), and BookNet Canada (BNC) is committed to improving sustainability in the book publishing supply chain. They have released a Publisher – Printer Sustainability Guide, to aid dialogue between publishers and printers about sustainability work and policies. 

A collaborative industry commitment to advancing inclusion and diversity in scholarly publishing through standardised questions for self-reported diversity data collection and minimum standards for inclusion and diversity in scholarly publishing. By joining, organizations demonstrate leadership and foster a more inclusive community, aligning with SDG goals on Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10). 

STM developed an SDG Classifier Demonstrator to test a simple, consistent approach to tagging research with relevant SDGs. While the tool won’t be developed further at this stage, the project provided valuable insights into publisher needs and where shared solutions can support contributions to the global goals. These learnings continue to inform STM’s approach to SDG alignment across scholarly communications.

C4DISC provides toolkits, resources and best practices to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in publishing. Publisher participation includes access to tools and events to create a more diverse workplace and enhance representation, advancing SDGs related to Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10), Gender Equality (SDG 5) and Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8). 

Research4Life builds research capacity for global knowledge exchange between the global north and south.  Its discovery portal provides free or low-cost access to scientific research for 12,000 institutions in 125 low- and middle-income countries, supporting SDGs on Quality Education (SDG 4) and Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10). Publisher support helps to expand global knowledge access and research equity, Partnership for the Goals (SDG 17). 

The SDG Publishers Compact is a United Nations initiative inviting publishers to commit to sustainable practices and promote content aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By joining, publishers gain visibility as responsible contributors to global sustainability efforts and receive guidance on integrating SDGs into their publishing processes, enhancing their impact and relevance in addressing pressing global challenges. 

DIMPACT is a “think and do” coalition working to align industry changemakers and policymakers around meaningful, science-based solutions that reduce the environmental impacts of serving digital media products.